


Memories

by TDKeh16



Series: Tumblr Fics and Prompts [35]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: But so is Bitty really, Domestic Fluff, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Future Fic, Jack is so extra, Just so much fluff you guys, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-10-28 02:47:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10822143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TDKeh16/pseuds/TDKeh16
Summary: Bitty and Jack's children find something unexpected hidden in the basement.





	Memories

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by #17 on this list: http://bzfd.it/2pIi3PT/  
> (But really, so many of them are Zimbits-able lol)
> 
> Alexandre and Maëlle are the zimbits children from my "wouldn't change a thing" fic about Bitty running into his first (horrible) winter screw date again years down the line.  
> They think their dads are huge dorks, but they love it.  
> Read "Wouldn't Change a Thing" here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/8243182

"What are you doing in the storage room?" Alexandre asked.

"I need stupid old pictures for a class project." Maëlle strained to grab a plastic storage bin labelled "memories" from the top shelf, while balanced precariously on another bin herself. "Papa's old. He probably has some in here."

"He told me he used to have to go to the supermarket and wait a day to get his photos printed."

"Exactly!" She hopped down with a small groan. "This feels pretty light. I hope--"

Their dad came downstairs right at that moment. "What are you two up to down here? You better put everything back where you found it, young lady."

"I know." Maëlle rolled her eyes when her dad's back was turned and her little brother giggled. She opened the lid. "What the hell?"

"Hey! LANGUAGE, missy." Her dad called from the other room.

"Sorry, dad..."

Their dad paused at the bottom of the stairs when he saw his perplexed children sifting through a large bin filled with small colourful papers. He wandered over and set his jar of homemade jam down on one of the shelves. "...What on EARTH do you have there?"

"I dunno. It's like, a bunch of sticky-notes." Maëlle shrugged.

Alexandre plunged his hand inside and read one he pulled from the bottom out loud. "This says 'you inspire me' and it's surrounded by hearts."

"This one says 'you're so strong' has a smiley face. And it's signed by someone named 'B'."

"Who's B?" Alexandre suddenly gasped. "Is this from Uncle B? Why would he write that?"

"...Dad?" Maëlle frowned down at the notes in front of her, trying to figure out why her uncle wrote all these loving notes to her father, and why he chose to keep them. It scandalized her 13 year old heart and she looked up at her dad for an explanation. The tears that welled in his eyes did not reassure her. "DAD???"

"It's me, sweetheart. I'm B -- for Bittle. When your Papa and I started..." He trailed off and sat down in the other side of the bin. "Oh my lord..."

"Dad?" Alexandre saddled up next to his father and watched him gently sift through each small paper.

A green one on top caught Maëlle's eye. She distinctly remembered watching her dad place it on top of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich he had made for her papa a few days before. "I remember this one..."

Jack came home from work and his family was nowhere to be found. He opened his lunch bag and made a beeline down to the basement with another small paper in his hand. "Oh, you're all down-- Oh. I, uh... Why? How did you find that?"

"Maëlle was looking for pictures, and--"

Alexandre's big sister clapped a hand over his mouth. "Shh! They're having a moment," she whispered.

"Oh, honey... You didn't really keep all...?" Bitty's hand remained in the bin, but his eyes were trained on Jack. 

Jack let out a quiet chuckle, a bit embarrassed to be caught red-handed in such a way. "C'mon, Bits. How could I ever throw any of them away?"

That got Bitty back on his feet and he rushed into Jack's arms. "You're the most thoughtful... wonderful... beautiful... amazing... incredible man I have ever met!" He said between little kisses.

They held each other and shared more kisses until their kids began to grumble about how embarassing their fathers were. Jack took Bitty's hand and led him back to the bin. If his family had discovered his secret, he might as well tell them everything. "To be honest, these aren't ALL from you, Bits..."

"Oh?"

Jack searched through the bin for an example and pulled up a blue post-it note with three distinct authors. 'To the best papa ever' was written quite clearly, followed by their daughter's childish scrawl and a dark squiggle with another short line cutting across it. "You couldn't write yet, buddy." He laughed softly and pointed out the scribble to Alexandre.

Bitty sniffled and wiped his eyes, overwhelmed by emotions again. "The best papa and HUSBAND ever..."

"Can we read them all?" Maëlle asked.

Bitty looked at Jack, who smiled. "Sure, honey. Let's bring it to the rec room."

The kids pulled the bin out to the main basement area and began to read each note out loud while their dads curled up together on the couch.

"Don't forget this one." Jack added the note from that morning to the top.

"Aww, 'I love you more each day'." Maëlle read out.

"Aww," Alexandre echoed.

"I don't know who's more romantic -- dad for writing all these notes, or papa for keeping them..." she wondered aloud.

"You are," Bitty and Jack told each other at the same time. Jack smiled and gave his husband's shoulders a small squeeze. Bitty placed a soft kiss on the back of his hand.

Bitty tensed. "You didn't put the--" he started to ask in a whisper.

"--notes from the mirror? No. Those are in a different place," Jack assured him. The notes that Bitty always left him on their bathroom mirror in the morning were decidedly less 'family friendly.'

"Where?"

"I keep those in a safe. I definitely didn't want those to be found."

"Well, you certainly didn't seem to want me to find THESE notes either. Were you ever going to tell me you kept them all?"

"Eventually. I thought it would be a good anniversary gift."

Bitty laughed. "For which anniversary???"

"I don't know. Maybe our 50th?"

Bitty laughed again at his husband's earnesty. "You thought you could keep those hidden for 50 YEARS?"

"Well, I kept them on the TOP shelf." Jack grinned. "What? Can you reach that high?"

"YES, I most certainly CAN reach that high!" Bitty laughed. "I'm not sure I can take 35 more years of your CHIRPING, mister!"

"That's fine. It's only 34 years and 353 days until then. I think we'll make it."

Bitty was once again rendered speechless. He curled up tighter against Jack's side and rested his head on his shoulder. A few feet away, their two children continued to read out the little love notes he had written Jack over the years, bit Bitty could barely hear them. Instead, his ears were filled with the sound of Jack's steady heartbeat, and his content sigh as he gave Bitty another small squeeze.

Bitty sighed happily as well. "Me too, sweetpea. Me too."

**Author's Note:**

> Bitty: The kids thought that "B" was Shitty for a moment there. Could you imagine him writing you little love notes every day?  
> Jack: Well, he didn't do it every day. More like weekly.  
> Bitty: What?  
> Jack *chuckles*: He used to leave me notes too back at the haus. "Your glutes are outta this world, brah" or "holy hell, those cheekbones could cut glass" or "you're such a fucking nerd, don't ever change."  
> Bitty *laughs*: Why am I not surprised?  
> Jack: Rans and Lardo would leave me notes now and then too. More, uh, polite though. Not as... well, not like Shitty's notes, haha.  
> Bitty: Did you save those too?  
> Jack: Yeah, most of them. They're in the shoebox on the top shelf in the closet.  
> Bitty *hurries to the closet*: Honey? Where's the step stool? (Jack starts laughing) Not fair! Jack Laurent Zimmermann-Bittle, I was NOT the one who wanted these high ceilings.  
> Jack: Be right there, Bits.


End file.
